Well, only one station can carry the Rays games and I'm sure 1040 would if they could. What's the alternative? Yankees games are going to get them more listeners than another talk show. And I can't really blame them for promoting their own programming.

Do you think a competing station to WEEI in Boston would go, "Oh, we can't play the Red Sox, so we may as well play the Yankees"? The only station in all of Mass. that plays the Yankees is a station 20 miles outside of Albany and on the other side of the state from Boston.

Cork, please know that it's not a knock on you, and The Babe is absolutely one of my heroes. But from a pure MLB Blackout Regulations standpoint, it's not right.

1. What follows is pure speculation, and nothing more: As the Tampa Bay Rays consider ways to upgrade their lineup in the last 16 days before the trade deadline, maybe they should be the team that goes out on a limb and makes a deal for Prince Fielder, who would represent a dramatic change for their offense. The Rays could structure an offer around right-hander Wade Davis -- the kind of power pitcher Milwaukee needs -- and could have Fielder for the 2011 season, as well, before he becomes a free agent.

The Rays would trot out a hell of a core in the middle of their lineup, as they make their push for the playoffs: